How to Spot an Infected Tattoo

I’ll admit now, the above tattoo isn’t infected. But every picture of a real infected tattoo is absolutely disgusting, so I thought I’d just give you a picture of a bad tattoo that I secretly love. Anyways, yes, infected tattoos..

Infected tattoos are actually a lot rarer than you think. If you go to a good tattoo studio and follow their instructions, that is. So due to that, I’ll start by letting you know the prevention is a billion times better than the cure- listen to your tattoo artist, and respect the work they’ve put onto you. All they ask for is that, and it’s all your health’s screaming out for too. Don’t be a dick about it, your artist, if you go to a good one, knows what they’re talking about.

However, sometimes it just happens. Sometimes the artist isn’t as good as you first thought, or you haven’t looked after your tattoo enough. A lot of the time, it’s not the artists’ fault, however you should definitely go to see them about it instead of spreading bad things about their shop, they should be able to let you know what’s gone wrong, and take full responsibility if it’s their doing.

But how do you know it’s infected? Well, here’s some symtoms:

Swelling

First off, this isn’t the swelling you may experience straight after your tattoo- that’s actually really common and it’s nothing to worry about! What we’re talking about here is the prolonged swelling of the tattoo. Basically, if you’ve swelled up enough to have the design look distorted, it’s time to speak to your artist.

Inflammation

Inflammation is a lot like swelling, except in this case, the area around the tattoo is still pink or red after a couple of days. It may also feel itchy- again, something that is common but shouldn’t persist after a day or two. The temperature of the area is also a good giveaway- if it feels hot around the area, it could be infected.

Discharge

Here’s a more serious one: of course, while your tattoo is healing, you may experience a slight discharge of clear liquid, it’s totally normal. However, if you feel like this is too much, or more important, yellow in colour, you may be infected. You may want to go straight to a GP before your tattoo artist, depending on how severe it seems- if you’re ever in doubt, go to your GP. The tattoo artist can answer any questions later.

Red Streaks

The most dangerous of symptoms. If there are any red streaks around your tattoo, this may be a sign of blood poisoning- go straight to your GP immediately, no time to waste on your tattoo artist here. Of course, this isn’t common, but it’s something that can happen, so don’t assume it hasn’t happened to you if you see red streaks.

Other symptons of infection may include fever, muscle ache and pain. If you feel like you may have an infection, please take immediate action, by either consulting your tattoo artist or GP in more serious cases.

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